Eyeing rural votes, BSP asserts itself at villages in Jalandhar

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, June 1

A village approach road lined with blackened fields on both sides due to burning of wheat straw, leads to a narrow street marked by round, ornate hay stacks. In the middle of the narrow street, beneath a pink canopy, a bunch of BSP workers sit by a huge table flanked by two table fans. A smaller booth nearby houses a couple of AAP workers. At Kamalpur village in Goraya, Phillaur, these are the only two booths set up by any party. The Congress and the Akalis haven’t set up any booth here.

With the reduced presence of SAD across the state, in the rural hinterland of Jalandhar, the BSP has made a robust attempt to reclaim this space, which is evident with it’s unmissable booth presence on poll day.

During a long drive through the villages of Phillaur and Goraya — Kamalpur, Phillaur, Garha, Atti, Brahmpura, Akalpur, Muthadda Kalan — the most frequent faces on poll posters you come by in the interior areas are those of Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi and BSP candidate Balwinder Singh.

But there are disillusioned pockets, which swing towards the BSP quite emphatically. Phillaur is also traditionally an area where the BSP enjoys a sound base. While this year, one also expected BJP’s booth presence in villages, but it isn’t that much as last year during the bypoll.

Tarsem Lal from Akalpur village says, “Sannu tan aitki hathi da zor lagda. (I feel the elephant is strong this year).”